Mario RPG: Return of the Seven Stars
by Jellyfish Jam
Summary: This is a story that takes place a year after RPG. Mario, Bowser, Peach, Geno, and Mallow return and this time they must sail to an unknown land to recover the seven stars and stop an upcoming war that threatens peace everywhere. R&R.
1. Trouble Begins

**Hello everyone! This is my first Mario Fanfiction so go easy on me. This is about a journey that took place about a year after the events of Mario RPG. I was so excited when I found out you could download that game on the Wii. It has most of the characters from the game and the narrators are Geno and Mallow. So attempt to enjoy. (Just so you know, my sister and I have not beaten the game yet. We almost did, but then Smithy creamed her. Bummer.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mario RPG. But I downloaded it onto my Wii.**

**Chapter One: Trouble Begins**

**Geno's POV**

It was a long time ago since I last heard the name "Mario." I remember him well, though it was quite a long time ago when I had last seen him. But his and the others memories still rang in my mind.

I still heard from them every now and then. Not from actual words or anything, but from their wishes. Peach and Bowser would wish often. Even Mallow would make a wish every now and then. But Mario never did. He was silent.

It was fate that would bring us all together again. Although at the time I didn't think it was fate. It was more of a disaster.

The attack came at night, usually when people were wishing the most. Everyone was working hard and we were too busy to notice anything wrong. But, then again, it_ is _kind of hard to miss about five hundred missiles headed straight towards you.

They seemed to come out of nowhere, devastating everything. And there was nothing anyone could do. When I came to everything was destroyed and the seven star pieces were missing. Again.

"Not again," I muttered to myself. Checking to make sure no one would notice my absence, I shot through the sky and back down to Earth.

In a long process that is way too complicated to go into right now, I was able to find Rose Town, despite my injured state (we were all injured in the attack).

I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I knew that I needed Geno's body again. The house was dark when I entered. Gaz and his mother were obviously asleep, as it was late at night.

But I must have made a little noise because five seconds after I blinked awake, I saw little Gaz staring wide-eyed at me. I stumbled in surprise.

"Geno!" he exclaimed in happiness. ""You came back! Are we going to play?"

"I really wish I could," I replied with a smile. "But I'm on an important mission. Do you know where Mario is?"

"Why? Does he need your help again?" he asked with a giggle. I nodded.

"Yup," I replied. "But it's a very secret mission. You mustn't tell anyone. Understand?"

"I understand," Gaz nodded. He clapped his hands excitedly. "A top secret mission! That is so exciting!"

"So do you know where I can find Mario?" I asked him, getting back to my initial question. He shook his head, sadly.

"He's all over the place being a hero and stuff," he told me, looking disappointed.

"That's okay," I said quickly. "It's not your fault! And don't worry I'll be back. You have nothing to worry about."

"And then we'll play?" Gaz asked hopefully.

"And then we'll play," I replied.

**Mallow's POV**

Days had become really slow. Don't get me wrong, I was still excited to be a prince and the people of Nimbus Land were so nice. It was really peaceful in the land. A little too peaceful. These days, my mind started wandering back to the days of my adventures with Mario. If I hadn't met Mario, I would have never met my parents, or found out that I was a prince.

And my parents were great too. My mother taught me discipline and my father taught me important life lessons. I wasn't used to this royal life yet though. But still, I was happy.

I tried to keep out of the main hallway, where the statues of my friends were. The memory of them was just too painful for me. I'd explore the palace, but take careful note to avoid that room. The only time I went into that room was when I wanted to be alone, by myself.

Not today though. It was a busy day today. The annual Fluff Festival was approaching (it started tomorrow) and it was the biggest thing in Nimbus Land. It was a weeklong celebration that spread joy across all the lands. It was the most exciting time of the year. And this year I got to plan it.

So I was very busy these days and didn't get a moment to myself. I wanted this to be the greatest Fluff Festival ever. I was running this way and that to make sure everything was perfect for tomorrow. It was exhausting work.

"That's good, guys," I called to the two palace guards who were hanging up banners around the palace. "That looks perfect."

"If you say so, Prince," one of the guards replied, wiping his brow and smiling at me. They climbed down from their ladders. "Where shall we hit next?"

"How about the throne?" I suggested. "I don't think we decorated there yet."

The palace was going to hold many indoor fluff activities, including a dance. The Fluff Festival had so many exciting things to do that it took a week to do them all. The festival even went into the night.

As we walked through the halls to the throne room, I could see that everyone was working hard. Everyone wanted to make the Fluff Festival perfect. I smiled and waved as I passed by. It was a lot of hard work, but it was going to be worth it. Plus, it was a lot of fun too.

We burst through the doors, our arms full of decorations. The throne room was the last place we had to decorate. It seemed like barren compared to all of the other rooms.

"All right guys," I said. "Let's get started."

"Where shall we put all of this?" the guard asked, indicating the things in his arms. I shrugged.

"Let's just have fun with it and see what happens," I suggested. We all set off to work.

I had decided to get creative and lighten the place using glitter and sparkles. I happily pranced around the room, tossing them over my shoulder with hardly a care in the world.

"Are you so busy that you can't notice when your visitor would like a word with Your Majesty?" a soft familiar voice asked behind me, making me jump.

I spun around in surprise and stared. I rubbed my eyes and stared again. I couldn't believe who was standing there in front of me. A grin broke across my face and I threw my arms wide open.

"Geno!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms tightly around him. I heard a sharp intake of breath come from him.

"Don't hug my too hard," he warned me. "I haven't had time to recover."

I let him go and he took a step back to get a good look at me. He himself looked like he had gotten hit with a tornado. He was also covered in the sparkles that I had carelessly tossed over my shoulder. Other than that, Geno looked completely the same. He let out a small laugh.

"You have not changed a bit, my fluffy friend," he told me, smiling.

"Yes I have!" I protested. "I'm stronger now! And I'm not a coward anymore! Anyways, I can't say the same about you! You look like you were hit by a hundred missiles or something!"

"Five hundred, to be exact," Geno replied, sighing. "And that's why I came here. I need your help, Mallow. The world is in danger of total destruction."

He was following me as I continued to set up for the Fluff Festival. He seemed completely oblivious to the festivities that we were setting up.

"Maybe we should find somewhere else to talk," I suggested. "It's kind of busy in here."

He nodded and followed me out of the room, his words still ringing in my head. _The world is in danger of total destruction. _I could hardly believe it. But I knew Geno would not lie about such things.

"What happened anyways?" I asked him once we were alone. He sighed.

"It was last night," he started, looking up at the ceiling. "Star Road was attacked from out of nowhere. We were attacked from out of nowhere. We were struck with missiles and there was nothing that was left unscathed. It was terrible. Before I blacked out, I heard a terrible laughter and I immediately recognized the voice. When I woke, the seven star pieces that we had fought so hard to recover were gone, along with the Star Rod."

I gasped in horror. We had traveled so long and fought so many foes to save the Star Pieces. Now they were all captured again! Those thoughts brought great disappointment to me. I felt like that entire adventure had been pointless. All for naught.

"What's the Star Rod?" I asked him suddenly.

"It's what powers all of the Star Road, and anything from it," he explained, indicating the Star Pieces. "If that Rod were to fall into the wrong hands, as it has no doubt already done, they would have the power of the stars in their hands."

I shuddered. _The power of the stars. _ That couldn't be good. But Geno was not done with the worst of it.

"I immediately went to Rose Town," he continued. "I accidentally woke little Gaz, but he didn't know where Mario was. I figured then that I would come to you for help. But as soon as I left the house, I saw something on a nearby tree. It was a message carved into the tree, addressed to the entire Mushroom Kingdom." He leaned against the wall and looked at me seriously. "It was declaring war on the entire kingdom. It read 'Soon I will come. Soon I will declare war. And soon this country will fall to me. I have the power of the heavens on my side.' But it gave nothing of who it was or where they came from."

My head was spinning. A war? This was such a peaceful kingdom, and the people wanted it to stay that way. This was devastating! And I had no idea what to do. I felt myself start to fall from dizziness, but before I hit the ground I felt Geno's gentle hands catching me. I opened my eyes to see him looking worriedly down at me.

"Are you okay?" He asked me, raising me to my feet. I shook my head to clear it.

"I will be," I replied. "I'm just feeling a little light-headed. I mean, a war! This is big news! Terrible news! And the day before the Fluff Festival too! This is just disastrous!"

Now it was Geno's turn to stare.

"What's the Fluff Festival?" he asked me, a confused look on his face.

"It's a celebration that's only once a year," I explained, glad that I actually knew something that he didn't. "We celebrate the joys of life and the land. It's one of the biggest celebrations in the entire land."

"Is this a problem?" Geno asked. "Nimbus Land has celebrated this festival before without their Prince. I'm sure they can stand one more year without you."

"You don't understand," I exclaimed. "The Fluff Festival is tomorrow! You can't leave right before or during the Fluff Festival! It's completely impossible."

"What are you talking about?"

"The clouds expand across the land and a barrier is created," I explained. "People can come but no one can leave until the Fluff Festival is complete."

"And how long is the festival?" Geno asked, despair in his eyes. I flinched. He wasn't going to like this.

"One week," I answered.

**Ha! So there you go. I just want you to know that Mario doesn't come until the third chapter. Yes. This is a Mario Fanfiction, and he doesn't show up until later. Next chapter will be what happens during the Fluff Festival. I hope you like it so far. And sorry for all the long explanations and vague stuff. It's only the first chapter after all.**

**So please review, otherwise my shadow will take a break from my other account and come to torment you. Yup.**


	2. Fluff Festival

**Hey guys, sorry it took so long, but here's chapter two. I looked back on the two chapters and suddenly realized that they're a lot longer than I thought they would be. But that's good, I guess. After all, we all need to read more.**

**This chapter is the Fluff Festival. Mario is not in this chapter either. And there's a little irony in this too. I hope you enjoy it because it took a long time to write it.**

**Disclaimer: I still have it on the Wii. Unfortunately, our Wii isn't doing too good. I think it's sick or something.**

**Chapter Two: The Fluff Festival (No Duh.)**

**Geno's POV**

I stared at Mallow in horror. He wouldn't look me in the eye. One week! We were trapped here for one week! All the while the enemy was gaining strength, where we could do nothing.

"Are you sure there is nothing we can do?" I asked him in despair. He slowly shook his head, defeated. I started pacing the room in sorrow. "I wish you had told me sooner. I could have tried to get to Mario first. Fluff Festival! How was I to know about this? I'm not a mind-reader, Mallow!"

The young cloud took a sweeping glance around the greatly decorated room before turning back to me. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the arrival of his parents.

"Oh there you are son," King Nimbus greeted, spotting us. "We were looking for you. Is everything ready for tomorrow?"

"I think so," Mallow replied, not looking at me. "We were setting up the throne room when Geno arrived."

The king and queen looked at me, finally noticing my presence.

"Oh yes, I remember you," Queen Nimbus exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "Any friend of Mallow's is always welcome here."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," I replied, nodding. "But the reason I'm here is-"

"Oh we know why," the king replied, smiling. "You're here to take part in the Fluff Festival! Just like everyone else! Am I right?"

"Well, actually-"

"Now there's no reason to be shy about it," the king interrupted. "After all, the Fluff Festival is the biggest event of the year! I hope you two have fun! Especially with Mallow organizing it this year. It's going to be a blast!"

Then they left before we could say anything else. I sighed and turned back to Mallow, a little overwhelmed by everything that was going on.

"It's probably best if you don't tell my parents about the situation," Mallow told me. "They tend to overreact to things. Besides, they and everyone else are so excited about the Fluff Festival; it wouldn't feel right if we ruined it for everyone by telling them about the danger. Especially since no one can do anything about it. I think we should keep this between ourselves."

I sighed and gave a small nod. It made sense, after all. Mallow had really grown since I first met him.

"All right, Mallow," I sighed again. "I promise that won't bring this up again until the Fluff Festival is over."

He smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Geno," he said before turning and leaving the room. Looking around, I gave one last long sigh before following him, wondering how long I would able to keep this promise.

**Mallow's POV**

I can't say that the week was the most joyful one I ever had, but it was definitely one to remember. The Fluff Festival started off with a big bang. Everyone seemed to love the opening speech that I had prepared for the first day. It was a huge crowd and I had been really nervous. It seemed like the entire world had shown up to see the festival. It was really exciting to be there.

The Fluff Festival would have pushed all of the dark thoughts and warnings from my head if it weren't for Geno. He was like my own personal rain cloud, following me everywhere I went. It seemed like he wouldn't allow me to forget the up-coming danger. He barely said a word and would just silently follow me everywhere. It started to get unnerving before the first day was over. He had promised not to bring the crisis up, but that didn't mean he was going to let me forget about it either. And I was the only one who seemed to notice his dark mood too. Yes, everyone was smiling, hugging, and just generally having a good time. Everyone, except Geno.

"You know, you could at least attempt to have a good time," I told Geno as we walked through the halls towards the grand feast. He let out a long sigh.

"That's easier said than done, knowing what we do," he replied. "I'm surprised at how happy and excited you seem to be."

"Because this is an exciting event," I reasoned. "And I got to plan it this year. If anything goes wrong, I'll feel like it's my fault. But nothing's gone wrong so far."

He gave me a confused look. "And that makes you excited?" he asked me. "But it's only the first day."

"So? If today is this fun, then tomorrow's going to be even better," I told him, sighing at the thought.

"If there is a tomorrow," he muttered under his breath. I frowned at him. Did he have to be so negative?

We didn't say anything else as we entered the hall and came upon the grand feast that was taking place. As a tradition, the first and last grand feasts were for royalty only. Geno wasn't exactly royalty, but they would make an exception since he was my friend. Not that he really _cared_ or anything.

"Ah, Mallow!" my father called. "There you are! As host of this year's Fluff Festival, you must sit at the head of the table."

I smiled and walked over to where he pointed with Geno slowly following me. I was excited to be at the head of the table; I felt really important sitting in the chair my father usually sat in. Geno sat to the left of me, staring at the table, while my parents sat on the other side. I could see the entire table from where I sat. The table was crowded with a lot of important people that I didn't know. They were all chatting amongst themselves as they patiently waited for dinner to be served.

My mother was looking down the table at the many faces. She seemed to be looking for someone in particular.

"Huh," she said. "I don't see Princess Peach at all yet." Geno and I glanced at her in surprise.

"Peach is supposed to be here?" I asked in a shocked voice.

"Oh yes," my mother replied. "She and the Chancellor come every year. I sent a special invitation to her this year though, since I knew you two were friends. And since you were planning it this year…"

I now looked down the table eagerly, but I could not see anyone that even resembled the Princess. I wasn't too disappointed. It was only the first day, after all. She could have been delayed.

I suddenly noticed that everyone was staring at me expectantly. The chefs had come out with the food and were also waiting. Even Geno was staring at me with a cock eyebrow. I stared back, wide-eyed and nervous. What were they waiting for?

"Say something dear," my mother muttered encouragingly. "They want you to say something before we eat."

I gulped and stood on my chair so I could be seen. What was I supposed to say? I had not prepared for this!

"Uh… er," I stammered, looking for support. Nobody moved or even blinked. "Thank you all for coming to this exciting Festivals of Clouds. I'm sure that this will definitely be a year to remember." I thought for a quick moment as nobody moved. "Um, I hope you enjoy the lovely feast that our cooks have prepared. So yeah, dig in." Then I quickly sat back down and sank into my chair to avoid embarrassing myself any further.

To my surprise, everyone burst out clapping and cheering. I blushed at their kindness. The cooks then elegantly swept around the room as we started to eat.

**Geno's POV**

I shook my head with a small grin as I listened to Mallow's "speech." Poor Mallow. He was so terrified up there. But he was good, despite the stuttering.

"I didn't do too bad, did I?" Mallow asked me nervously as everyone else started eating.

"Well I thought you kind of dragged on in the middle," I told him jokingly with an attempt at a smile. He frowned at me as I snickered.

I then turned away to think and review things in my head. More importantly, what Queen Nimbus had said. So Princess Toadstool (or Peach as they now call her) was supposed to be here. She had helped reclaim the lost Star Pieces before and I was sure she would know what to do.

"Will you excuse me, Mallow?" I asked quietly, turning to my friend. He gave me a slightly confused and slightly hurt look.

"Why? Where are you going?" he asked me, a little worried. I sighed. Mallow was always worrying about everyone.

"I just need to be alone for a while," I told him. "This is a lot to take in a few days and the noise is starting to get to my head."

He nodded and I slowly stood and left the room. I knew that I had to find Peach and tell her what was happening. But I didn't know if she was here yet and that worried me. But it was only the first day, as Mallow had pointed out several times.

The first day. Six more days of this, what seemed to me, torture. Being stuck here, surrounded by others celebrating life and the land and knowing what doom is waiting for them, but being unable to do anything about it. It was nerve wracking.

I leaned against the walls, deep in thought. People passed by me, looking for fun and paying no attention to me. But why should they when there was so much for them to do? But there was nothing for me to do except wait for what was ahead to finally hit.

I had a feeling that Mallow wasn't taking me as seriously as he should. If he did, he would probably be panicking. I was actually a little offended by how quickly he had pushed my words from his mind. I knew he didn't grasp the entire concept of the situation at hand. The end to the week could not come soon enough.

Unfortunately Mallow "forgot" to tell me that the festival ran into the night. Everybody was screaming and running around well into the next day. And the day after that.

"Don't any of these people ever sleep?" I moaned on the third day. I was following Mallow around as he ran this way and that, making sure everything was in proper order.

"Not really," he answered hurrying through the halls. "The Fluff Festival is always so fun and exciting that there's no time for sleep." Mallow and I, on the other hand, were on the verge of collapsing.

"There is such thing as too much fun," I pointed out to him. "And I haven't seen the Princess yet."

"You really need to relax before you suffocate yourself," he lectured me as looked at the details of a stand that was set up nearby.

"I could say the same for you," I muttered, noting how he too had not gotten any sleep for three days. He turned to me impatiently.

"Nonsense!" he scoffed. "I am perfectly alert and perky." Then he turned and tripped over nothing, landing on his face.

"Oh Mallow," I sighed, shaking my head.

**Mallow's POV**

Geno looked like the living dead by the fourth day. He constantly asked me how I or anyone else could stand it. I kept suggesting that he go get some sleep, but he kept declining on the grounds that all of the noise would keep him awake.

I decided to drag – er, take him to the main room in the entire where they had all the dancing. It was perhaps the largest and loudest room in the entire palace. I thought it would wake him up, but it hardly seemed to phase him.

"If you need me, I'll be over here," he told me before slowly walking over to a corner and leaning against it, his eyes closed. I sighed and turned to watch everyone dancing. I tried to enjoy myself, but for some reason I couldn't.

"Who's your friend?" someone asked, indicating where Geno was standing. I glanced at him before turning back to her.

"That's Geno," I explained. "He's one of my friends that helped me save Nimbus Land."

"I remember that!" she gasped. "How brave of you to go after such a horrible fiend like that!" I blushed.

"Oh it was nothing really," I told her. "My friends did most of the work. I was more of a motivator."

"Well aren't you modest?" she giggled. I could suddenly feel Geno's eyes burning into me. It made me feel uncomfortable.

We talked for about another hour before she asked me to dance, in which I accepted, despite the fact that I wasn't really good at dancing. But it was fun. So much fun that I forgot about everything else for the moment.

When I walked back to Geno, I saw that he had slumped to the ground and was fast asleep. When I saw him, I sighed and shook my head.

By the last day, Geno spent most of his time staring at the clock, waiting for the day to be over. I couldn't help but keep glancing at it myself. But I was determined to make the most out of the last day of the Fluff Festival.

The last day was probably the most important as it left the biggest impression. So I had to make sure it was great. First there was the Great Race, followed by the ending feast. Then I had to give this finale speech. I also decided to add my own thing this year. As the sun set, the clouds, and barrier would disappear. It was a very pretty site, and I decided to make it more wonderful this year by adding fireworks at the end.

The race of many weird activities, including fire walking, sprinting across a narrow strip of platform, and much more. The contestants were all volunteers who had signed up the day before, with the winner getting many fabulous prizes. The crowd watched with excitement as the race started and the contestants dashed forward. Geno slowly walked up to me, watching the race in somewhat confusion.

"I don't get it," he said to me. I looked at him.

"Get what?" I asked.

"Well, whenever celebrations like this have games and races like these, they seem utterly pointless," he sighed, shaking his head. "There seems to be no purpose other than winning. Shouldn't games help you with skills you will actually need later in life?"

"You might need these skills later on in life," I told him, gesturing to the fire walking, where three people had already chickened out. Geno scoffed.

"I really doubt it, Mallow," he muttered, looking back at the race. I sighed and also turned back to the race. It did seem ridiculous now that he mentioned it. I mean, when would we ever need to do any of this?

The final dinner was just as awkward as the first one. Especially since Peach never showed up. And the fact that my father kept telling Geno these embarrassing stories about me of stuff I did since I returned home didn't help. It was really embarrassing. Geno just listened with a blank expression on his face.

"And he cried for two hours," my father finished. Geno snickered and I slammed my head on the table.

"Dad, can we talk about something else now?" I pleaded. He smiled at me.

"Why of course," he replied. He turned to Geno. "So, how's it going up in Star Avenue?" My friend blinked at him.

"It's 'Star Road,'" he corrected. He hesitated a little. "And it's fine. I mean it's not like it's destroyed or anything." I really couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. I saw him cast a glance at me.

I opened my mouth to make a remark, but my mother suddenly gasped. "We must hurry everyone!" she called. "If we're late, we'll miss the sunset." We all hustled outside, where the sun was just beginning to set. My parents gave the crowd their own separate speeches on what a great year it's been and stuff. Then it was my turn. I tried not to look too nervous as I stepped up to the podium and cleared my throat.

"Er, um," I started, looking at the gathering crowd. "People of Mushroom Kingdom, it is a pleasure for me to declare another success for this marvelous festival. This festival is to remind us all to celebrate the joys of life. We should be grateful for not only the big things, but the little things as well. Now, to celebrate another year of peace" (I could imagine Geno rolling his eyes at this) "I present to you all a lovely surprise."

My timing was perfect. As the sun slipped beyond the horizon, the clouds started shifting and disappearing like magic. Then the fireworks went off, reflecting off the clouds. It was like an explosion of colors; a fantastic, breath-taking sight. We all stared in awe.

As everyone "ooh"ed and "ah"ed at the sight, I suddenly saw Geno slowly making his way through the crowd and striding towards me.

"Now," he said, "Where can we find Mario?"

**So there you go. This chapter took a lot longer than I thought it would. Hopefully the next chapter will be shorter. I will also be explaining why Peach never showed up in the next chapter. I hope this chapter didn't bore you too much.**

**Questions? Comments? Random exclamations? Please read and review. Otherwise my shadow will haunt your Wii. Or Play station, or Xbox. Or computer, whichever one best suites him.**


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